Events and webinars have become powerful tools in the marketing world, offering companies great opportunities to engage with prospects, showcase expertise, and grow their business. 95% of marketers view webinars as essential to their marketing strategy. Read on for strategies and tactics that marketing professionals and business owners can use to harness the power of events and webinars effectively in their marketing strategy.
Why is Event and Webinar Marketing Important?
If you are not already, your company should consider hosting events and webinars and incorporating them into your marketing strategy. By incorporating webinars and events into your marketing efforts, you can:
- Build brand awareness: Hosting webinars and events allows you to showcase your brand’s values and expertise to a wider audience, helping to increase brand recognition and visibility.
- Establish thought leadership: Position your brand as an industry authority by sharing valuable insights, knowledge, and best practices with your audience.
- Generate leads and drive conversions: Webinars and events provide a platform to capture leads, nurture relationships, and drive conversions by offering valuable content, product demonstrations, or exclusive offers to attendees. In fact, 73% of B2B marketers state that webinars are an excellent way to generate high-quality leads.
- Gather valuable feedback and insights: Webinars and events offer opportunities to gather feedback, insights, and market intelligence from attendees, helping to inform future marketing strategies and product development initiatives.
How to Create an Effective Event and Webinar Marketing Strategy
To get the most out of your events and webinars, it’s essential to plan them correctly. Here are some effective strategies to consider:
- Define Your Objectives: Before planning any event or webinar, clearly define your goals and what you hope to achieve. Whether it’s increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or driving sales, having a clear set of objectives will help guide your strategy and measure success.
- Know Your Audience: Understanding your target audience is crucial for creating relevant and engaging events and webinars. Take the time to research their needs, questions, and pain points, and tailor your content and messaging accordingly. This will ensure that your event or webinar resonates with your audience and delivers value to them.
- Choose the Right Format: Events and webinars come in various formats, including workshops, panel discussions, Q&A sessions, and product demos. Choose a format that best suits your audience and objectives, and ensure it aligns with your brand’s tone and messaging.
- Select the Right Topic: Choose an event topic that addresses common pain points, challenges, or trends within your industry. Conduct research to identify topics that would be relevant to your target audience and provide valuable insights or solutions. Consider surveying your audience or use keyword research tools to discover the most relevant topics that would attract your audience.
- Optimise Your Registration Process: Make it super easy for attendees to register for your webinar or event! Create a user-friendly registration page that clearly outlines the event topic, date, time, and agenda. Use a compelling call-to-action button and only a few form fields to reduce drop-offs and increase conversions. Consider offering incentives such as early bird discounts or bonus resources to encourage registrations.
- Promote Across Multiple Channels: Reach as many people as possible by promoting your events and webinars across various marketing channels. Send marketing emails to announce the webinar to your subscriber list and send reminder emails leading up to the event. Post on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to share teaser content, countdowns, and behind-the-scenes sneak peeks to generate buzz and encourage registrations.
- Create Compelling Content: The success of your webinar rests on you delivering engaging and valuable content to your audience. Develop a well-structured presentation or agenda that addresses your audience’s needs and challenges. Consider inviting guest speakers or subject matter experts to provide additional insights and perspectives.
- Encourage Interaction and Engagement: One of the key benefits of online webinars is the ability to interact with your audience in real-time. Encourage active participation and engagement throughout the webinar by incorporating interactive elements such as live Q&A sessions, polls, quizzes, and chat discussions. Create opportunities for attendees to ask questions, share experiences, and provide feedback, fostering a sense of community and collaboration.
- Follow up effectively: After the webinar, it’s crucial to stay in touch with attendees and nurture the relationship further. Send follow-up emails to thank attendees for attending, send the recording for those who couldn’t attend, and offer additional resources or exclusive content related to the webinar topic. This helps to keep your brand top of mind, reinforces the value of the webinar experience, and continues to provide value to attendees even after the event is over.
Case Study: HubSpot’s INBOUND Conference
A great example of a company that uses events very well in its marketing strategy is HubSpot with its annual INBOUND conference. The INBOUND conference brings together thousands of marketers, sales professionals, and business leaders from around the world for a conference comprising of keynotes, educational sessions, and networking opportunities.
HubSpot uses the INBOUND conference not only to showcase its products and services but also to provide valuable insights and thought leadership. Sessions include keynote speeches, breakout sessions, and interactive workshops, in which HubSpot delivers actionable advice that helps attendees grow their businesses.
What’s more, the INBOUND conference is a way for HubSpot to connect with its audience on a personal level, strengthen relationships with customers and partners, and gather feedback to inform their future product development. So, by investing in events like this, HubSpot has established itself as a leader in the marketing and sales industry and built a loyal community of customers and advocates.
So, to conclude, we’ve seen that events and webinars offer marketers a powerful platform to engage with their audience, showcase their expertise, and drive business growth. By defining clear goals, understanding your audience, and delivering compelling content, you can harness the power of events and webinars to elevate your marketing strategy and achieve meaningful results.
Are you ready to incorporate events and webinars into your marketing strategy? Contact Kamreno today to learn how we can help you plan and execute successful events.